Shen Qingfang, Chairman of Zhending: The supply gap has not been alleviated! Optical module/IC carrier board business is growing rapidly

Shen Qingfang (middle), chairman of Zhending Group, is accelerating production expansion to capture the AI ​​generation high-end PCB market. (Photo by reporter Zhuo Yijun)

Due to strong demand for AI (artificial intelligence) and HPC (high-speed computing), shortages and price increases have become keywords in the AI-related supply chain since last year. Shen Qingfang, chairman of the global PCB leader Zhending-KY (4958), said today that the supply gap in the AI supply chain has not yet been alleviated, and Zhending is fully accelerating With the expansion of production, optical module-related business can double its growth in 2027. With the rapid growth of high-end HDI and IC carrier board business, it is estimated that the revenue proportion of HDI will surpass that of flexible boards for the first time in 2028. In 2030, the revenue proportion of flexible boards will drop below 30%, while the revenue proportion of HDI will increase to 37-38%.

Zhending used to focus on soft boards. With the advent of the AI ​​era, it has quickly turned to the development of hard board-related products such as HDI and IC carrier boards. Shen Qingfang pointed out that according to the group's latest plan, the revenue proportion of soft boards will drop to less than 30% in 2030, HDI will increase to 37-38%, and the revenue ratio of carrier boards can exceed 20%. Optical module related business is also a major growth driver. The optical module business has doubled this year and will grow at a multiple next year.

At TPCA Show 2026, Zhiding will comprehensively demonstrate the group's latest technology layout and R&D results in the fields of AI servers, high-speed optical communications, AI terminal equipment, and forward-looking R&D, demonstrating a full range of PCB solutions from AI infrastructure to smart terminals. Zhending said that this exhibition focuses on three major areas: AI infrastructure, AI terminal applications, and forward-looking research and development. In terms of AI infrastructure, high-end PCBs used in AI server GPU/ASIC, CPU and network switches are displayed, as well as related products covering new generation high-speed optical communication applications such as 800G, 1.6T and XPO, NPO. In terms of AI terminal applications, it covers diverse applications such as AI glasses, foldable mobile phones, AI PCs, low-orbit satellites, robots and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), demonstrating the group's complete product layout from cloud computing, communication networks to smart terminals. At the same time, the site also introduced the R&D capabilities of the Forward-looking R&D Center in areas such as signal and power integrity, thermal management, material property analysis, precision measurement, and AI models, demonstrating Zhiding's solid foundation for continuing to promote high-end PCB technology upgrades. The group integrates complete product technologies such as flexible boards, high-density connection boards, high-multilayer boards, and IC carrier boards through One ZDT, and combines cross-domain R&D and manufacturing resources to grasp technology upgrade opportunities in the AI ​​industry from cloud, pipe to end.